(AP) — With his father looking on and the Pengrowth Saddledome crowd behind him, Brett Sutter sure made an impact in his NHL debut.
Sutter, the son of Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter, scored his first goal at 3:59 of the third period Tuesday night, helping rally the Flames to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
"Words can’t really describe it, it just feels good," the 21-year-old Sutter said about his first NHL game.
He was recalled from Quad City of the AHL on Monday, becoming the eighth member of his family, and second of the second generation, to make it to the NHL.
The tying goal came just 14 seconds after Ryan Getzlaf‘s goal on a backhand had given Anaheim its first lead. Mark Giordano worked the puck down low to Craig Conroy at the side of the Anaheim goal, who whacked a bouncing puck across the crease to Sutter.
The puck hit Sutter in the chest and landed at his feet where he jammed it in the open net, setting off a massive roar from the sellout crowd of 19,289.
"It’s pretty special," said Sutter, a sixth-round draft pick in the 2005 NHL draft. "I was out there for that first one, I thought that was pretty exciting but I didn’t really do a lot. Once that second one went in for me, I was real excited."
Giordano said you could feel the energy in the building after that goal.
"That was awesome. The fans were into it. It was one of those plays where it just bounced around and (Sutter) got rewarded for a hard night’s work," Giordano said.
A second-year pro, Sutter has one goal and six assists in 28 games with Quad City this season.
